Wyoming Wildlife May 2024 - 12

WORKING TOGETHER
Wyoming Sportsman's Group
continues growth and work with youth
The organization based in Gillette provides conservation
and education programs in northeast Wyoming
By Christina Schmidt
In spring 2014, the Wyoming Sportsman's
Group held its inaugural fundraising banquet
at the Cam-Plex Event Center in Gillette. Four
hundred tickets were sold - an impressive
show of support for any fundraising event.
At the group's 10th anniversary banquet in
March, 1,000 tickets were sold with another
200 volunteers and supporters in attendance.
This phenomenal growth surprised its founders.
" It is crazy. I am shocked, " said Ken Ford,
who along with Murphy Love and current
Wyoming Game and Fish Commissioner
Rusty Bell founded the group. " I had no idea
it would get this big. It has been a very big
community effort. "
Based in Gillette, the group funds diverse
conservation projects and outdoor educational
efforts throughout northeast Wyoming
and beyond. It focuses solely on reinvesting
the money it raises into local communities
and efforts, particularly projects involving
youth. There is no formal membership. Every
person who participates is considered integral
to the organization.
" We couldn't do it without every single
person who's a part of this - board members,
volunteers, sponsors and donors in the community, "
Ford said. " The Wyoming Sportsman's
Group stands as a true testament to the
power of collaboration and collective action. "
In just a decade the WSG has provided
funding for dozens of projects including
Wyoming Game and Fish Department big
game studies, habitat improvement efforts
and the purchase of a bear trap and immobilization
equipment for Gillette personnel.
" They have supported everything I have
asked of them, " said Erika Peckham, Game
and Fish wildlife biologist in Gillette. " They
were instrumental in getting the North Black
12 | May 2024
Hunter education students in Gillette who score 96 percent or better on their test receive backpacks with hunting accessories from the
Wyoming Sportsman's Group. (Photo courtesy of Jim Lyon)
Hills pronghorn movement study initiated
in 2022, and significantly supplemented the
Deer Area 10 movement study in 2019. In
fact, I would say these projects wouldn't have
happened without their support. "
" The Wyoming Sportsman's Group has
provided a lot of financial support for habitat
projects that directly benefit wildlife and
the sporting public " added Todd Caltrider,
Game and Fish terrestrial habitat biologist
in the Sheridan Region. " They have funded
aspen regeneration in the Bighorn National
Forest, ventenata spraying on Game and Fish
walk-in hunting areas and conifer removal
projects in crucial mule deer winter range. "
WSG supports local 4-H and high school
shooting sports teams with donations of
ammunition, and in 2015 donated money
" The Wyoming Sportsman's Group
has provided a lot of financial
support for habitat projects that
directly benefit wildlife and the
sporting public. " - Todd Caltrider
toward an accessible pier for a new community
fishery in Newcastle. Most recently, it
donated a new fish-cleaning station at Keyhole
State Park.
The organization also encourages youth to
enter wildlife or outdoor careers by offering
college and continuing education scholarships.
The scholarships, worth $1,000, have

Wyoming Wildlife May 2024

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